Kosmos
by hikachu
Summary: Judai and Yubel visit Johan, and the three of them reach, maybe, some semblance of harmony.


In front of him is a landscape of white and silence. Slumbering life.

Judai opens his mouth to say something, only to find there are no words that could possibly describe his feelings of awe. He has seen snow before; has been cold to the point where he could barely feel the tips of his fingers and his lips, chapped, would bleed a little, but even so, winter in Japan is nothing like this.

This is perfect in a way that reminds of fairy tales and nightmares at the same time. It's too perfect.

"Whoa," Judai's exclamation leaves his lips as a small cloud that melts into grayish volutes and then bleeds into the crisp air around them.

Johan throws a glance in his direction and chuckles. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

He can picture the childish excitement lighting up his eyes although Judai doesn't even turn around when he nods, replies:

"Hm-hm. It's pretty cool. I've never seen the sea all frozen up like this." He then tilts his head a bit, and Johan can glimpse the tip of a pink tongue peeking out of the corner of his mouth. It's the expression Judai used to make when he was plotting mischief or thinking too hard about something simple. Johan hasn't seen it in a long while and can't help but feel curious and a bit relieved.

"Hey, have you ever seen something like this, Yubel?"

"Hm… perhaps I have, perhaps I haven't." Yubel sounds, and looks, annoyed, as she materializes next to the boy without even glancing at him.

Just like the other two, the spirit stares at the houses and trees and the dock covered in snow, but with very different feelings: something is bothering her, or maybe she simply doesn't like the place. Whatever it is, Johan thinks, it's clearly written all over her face.

"How could anyone forget something like… _like this_?"

"It is possible when you have lived for as long as I, Judai."

"Oh." He blinks; a moment later he's grinning. "Does this mean you're getting old, then?"

Yubel scowling and gritting her teeth is a sight that would make any normal person cower in fear, but Judai is no normal person and such exchanges are part of their daily routine: he laughs, and so does Johan who then frowns – in a way so open and childlike it's not intimidating at all – when Yubel hisses—specifically at him.

They aren't exactly rivals: there is no hatred, no mistrust between them—not at this point, anyway. But there are wounds they inflicted upon each other, consciously or not, and those will stay forever, even in the case they do heal one day and all that's left behind will be just the ragged lines of barely visible scars. It's the nature of their relationship: like a mirror that's almost broken but not quite; like a red thread that ties them together whether they want it or not.

As long as Judai is there, they will never be allowed to say farewell once and for all. He's their red thread and the source of that irritating tingle they feel around each other, and that only Yubel acknowledges is jealousy.

Johan is, probably, too young and therefore too pure; too wrapped up in the present and all the warmth and enthusiasm that being around Judai gives him, to understand or even notice the darker corner of his heart. Or what, exactly, keeps drawing him back to this scrawny teen with ridiculously fluffy hair.

Johan can't know that Yubel instead does, and that this is what makes her so susceptible now.

"Well?" she inquires after a while, finally turning towards Judai. "Did we travel all the way here simply to stare at these rooftops covered in snow?"

He scratches the back of his head; his smile looking a bit tired or perhaps guilty for a moment. "Hehehe. Of course not. We go wherever there are people who need us, remember? Besides—"

Yubel snorts. "_I_ do."

He ignores her anyway.

"Besides, it's not just… the rooftops you know: there's the forest, and the sea and—"

"You'd better fix that scarf or you will catch a cold like last time." It's as if she's trying hard to sound irritated, detached, but Johan catches scaled hands twitching for a moment, as if to move forward, before clenching into fists: his gaze travels to where those hands wanted to be and he sees Judai's scarf, too loose around his thin neck in this cold weather.

"No matter how many times I tell you to take better care of yourself, you never seem to learn," she adds, and Johan thinks her voice sounds slightly more amused than exasperated: this is when he understands the feelings behind that tone and the affectionate gesture that didn't happen because _he_'s there.

He laughs without really knowing the reason. Perhaps it's the thought of a dragon being shy.

* * *

><p>The following day finds Judai still in bed after lunchtime with a nasty cold.<p>

"Looks like Yubel's prediction was right," Johan comments a bit too cheerfully.

Judai offers him a sheepish smile. His face is flushed and sweaty. Ruby Carbuncle is taking a nap on the bed next to him, and from time to time he reaches out to scratch the spot behind her ears as thanks for keeping him company. Yubel, on the other hand, seems to have forgotten about him.

"I thought she'd be the type to get super angry, nag all day and say something like 'I told you!'," Johan makes his best impression of a furious Yubel and laughs.

Judai laughs too. "She is like that. The fact that she hasn't shown herself since this morning only means that she's angrier than usual. Or maybe," he adds with a small smile that would look sly if this wasn't Judai, "she's sulking."

"… It seems you are already feeling better. I worried for nothing."

The boys turn around and Yubel is standing there, glaring at them. Her expression is as icy as her words, but for a moment Johan thinks she's a bit flustered. Just maybe.

He doesn't get to check again because she disappears almost at once.

"Yep, she's sulking," Judai grins and it's a bit strained.

"She looked… really mad to me."

"Hmm, she probably is. A bit. But mostly Yubel worries. And sulks. She's a bit like one of those snobby cats, and not very good at expressing her emotions."

Johan doesn't know what to say at first: he doesn't remember his friend being so perceptive. Judai has always had a heart of gold, but he was also always too preoccupied with his own little world to truly understand and connect with others, even his friends. He used to be terribly naïve, to the point of coming off as weird and detached, almost cruel, in his own way.

Johan wonders if this change is due to the fact that Judai's growing up or the bond he shares with Yubel. Then he reflects it's probably both, and smiles.

"I'll go make hot chocolate."

Ruby awakens at the announcement and her ears perk up.

"Yes, yes, I'll make some for you too, Ruby."

Her wide, wide eyes sparkle. Johan thinks that right now he is happy.

* * *

><p>He didn't expect to find Yubel in the kitchen, staring at the white scenery outside the window.<p>

"Hey."

She doesn't answer; Johan decides that it's better to let her be. Soon the air smells like cocoa powder.

He's almost done when Yubel decides to turn around and aks, "Is he alright?".

Johan pours the chocolate into colorful mugs, all from different sets, too quickly and some of it spills onto his fingers. He hisses, briefly considers how much this single question must have cost her, her pride.

"Judai's fne. It's just a cold after all; the fever will go down soon," he remembers what Judai told him, about Yubel. "He should have listened to you."

Yubel sighs. "He never does," and she's told him more than she would have liked to. Somehow, Johan understands this.

"He's stubborn," he says; it comes out a bit too soft.

"And now, thanks to his stubbornness, we're stuck here for who knows how long."

This is the longest conversation the two of them have ever had.

"I don't mind. Actually, I should ask Judai for a rematch now that I have the chance!"

Johan's grin, carefree and a bit goofy, reminds Yubel of how Judai used to smile in the past. He smiled like that all the time, even though they were apart.

"Unless you guys had planned something that can't wait, I don't see how spending a few more days here would be a problem."

You are the problem, Yubel thinks. Johan is faintly, unconsciously aware of it too. But the problem isn't big enough, because there's no hatred anymore, therefore, yes, they will stay: until the fever disappears and Judai is running around in the snow again and perhaps beyond that, until he tires of the frozen sea or hears the voice of someone in need.

Johan sets the mugs on a tray and asks her if she's happy now.

Yubel blinks, turns her gaze away. Her arms stay tightly crossed over her chest. For a moment, it seems she will remain silent, but then she looks at Johan again and opens her mouth to answer.

In the other room, Judai fell asleep with a smile on his face.


End file.
